czwartek, 24 lipca 2014

358. Costa Rica #2

The Peleides Blue Morpho, Common Morpho,or The Emperor (Morpho peleides) is an iridescent tropical butterfly found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, Paraguay, and Trinidad. Some authorities believe that peleides is a subspecies of Morpho helenor.

The brilliant blue color in the butterfly's wings is caused by the diffraction of the light from millions of tiny scales on its wings. It uses this to frighten away predators, by flashing its wings rapidly. The wingspan of the Blue Morpho butterfly ranges from 7.5–20 cm (3.0–7.9 in). The entire Blue Morpho butterfly lifecycle, from egg to adult is only 115 days.

Morpho peleides drinks the juices from rotting fruits for food. Its favourites in captivity are mango, kiwi, and lychee.